James Franco is Ready to Play The Game

James Franco is in talks to headline the big screen adaptation of Neil Strauss’ best-selling book, The Game, says a story at The Hollywood Reporter.

First announced for adaptation back in July, the film will be written and directed by David Levien and Brian Koppleman. The book, released in 2005, is officially described as follows:

Hidden somewhere, in nearly every major city in the world, is an underground seduction lair. And in these lairs, men trade the most devastatingly effective techniques ever invented to charm women. This is not fiction. These men really exist. They live together in houses known as Projects. And Neil Strauss, the bestselling author, spent two years living among them, using the pseudonym Style to protect his real-life identity. The result is one of the most explosive and controversial books of the year — guaranteed to change the lives of men and transform the way women understand the opposite sex forever.

On his journey from AFC (average frustrated chump) to PUA (pick-up artist) to PUG (pick-up guru), Strauss not only shares scores of original seduction techniques but also has unforgettable encounters with the likes of Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Heidi Fleiss, and Courtney Love. And then things really start to get strange — and passions lead to betrayals lead to violence. The Game is the story of one man’s transformation from frog to prince — to prisoner in the most unforgettable book of the year.

Franco starred earlier this year in Rise of the Planet of the Apes and recently finished shooting Oz The Great and Powerful, set for release in March of 2013. He’ll also star in Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers and is up for a cameo in Lovelace.